It's down to the Top 8 on 'American Idol,' and tonight, contestant Colton Dixon was tasked with singing a song from the '80s.

Instead of picking something from the alternative rock genre, which definitely seems to be the genre Dixon is most comfortable with, the 20 year old went with Cyndi Lauper's pop ballad 'Time After Time.' However, he couldn't resist giving the classic a rock twist.

Dixon met with tonight's mentors, who just happened to be No Doubt members Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal, before his performance. When she found out his song choice, Stefani, who looked ravishing in red, said, "...At first I was like, 'that's a little strange,' but when he did it, it was great." She then sang harmony with Dixon, which nearly sent the youngster into shock.

During his performance, wild hairdos weren't the only things Dixon had in common with Ms. Lauper. The rockin' singer nailed the overall tone of the song, delivering a harder, edgier version of the dreamy original (he admittedly ripped of from the new arrangement from the band Quietdrive) with his great backing band. Although we loved his stage presence and have no doubt that Dixon is a very talented vocalist (we can seriously picture him as the frontman of an alt-rock outfit along the lines of Lifehouse or Switchfoot), his voice did sound a bit nasally at times.

However, regardless of our opinion, everyone else in the 'Idol' auditorium seemed to dig Dixon's rendition of 'Time After Time.' Steven Tyler told the hopeful, "You could do a record right now. You nailed it." Jennifer Lopez was also going crazy over Colton, saying, "You were in sync with the band." Finally, Randy Jackson added, "You made [the song] your own. That breakdown with the drums was sick."

What did you think of Colton's performance? Sound off in the comments!